


The Saltwater Room

by ShetheCat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cat tried to write something, F/M, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Identity Reveal, idek, theres a bit of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9301556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShetheCat/pseuds/ShetheCat
Summary: songfic based on Owl City's 'The Saltwater Room'or What Happens when you Can't Shut Up





	1. Duet

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, I'm both excited and terrified, I hope ya like it!

Adrien flopped back against his chair as the Ladyblog's latest video looped and the accompanying song started up again with rippling guitar notes. A shot of two familiar silhouettes leaping gracefully over dark rooftops held, then faded into Ladybug pulling Chat against her as she used her yo-yo as a shield while a car hurtled towards them-

 

He shoved away and stalked through his dark room to the wall of windows, heartbeat rapping in time with his short, sharp steps. He remembered the fleeting moment of them pressing together, utterly in tune, and every other one Alya -how did the girl do it?- had captured in unfairly clean film. He remembered multitudes of others. The two of them were constantly touching. He relied on it- on her- on the trust they had in each other.

 

It made being Adrien much lonelier.

 

Adrien had to remember who he was, and how he behaved. Chat could forget about that for a little while. Chat had Ladybug to always have his back no matter what. Adrien had Nino, at school. Nino when he could get away after school.

 

He had to admit (very quietly and in private) that Chat Noir was lonely as well. But Chat had something that Adrien didn't- the unwavering partnership of Ladybug. Whatever else he could or couldn't have with his lady, he always had _her_ in a way that no one else did. It wasn't perhaps what he wished for privately, but it was enough. He always, _always,_ had her back, because she always had his. Bumps and rocks and misunderstandings aside.

 

_~Our time together isn't ever quite enough~_

 

His computer had looped through again and some of the lines were pinching at him. The music echoed in the enormous space, sounding as hollow as his chest felt. He wished he could call Nino and have him over, to fill the space with his friend's jokes and inability to be anything less than laid back, with his determination that Adrien deserved to be happy -did he?- and the understanding the other boy carried with him like breath.

 

He wished he could call Ladybug. He wished she could know him, and he her, and he could be with her when there _wasn't_ duty calling.

 

_~I feel warm with your hand in mine~_

 

A breathless laugh. He pressed his forehead to the cool glass and imagined Chat looking back, grin in place. His actual reflection just looked doe-eyed with longing. Instead of Chat, he tried to imagine Ladybug on the other side of the glass, rolling her eyes at his dramatics, but with that smile he adored.

 

Breath fogged slowly over the window. His speakers continued to croon, and he felt as though he could hear the sound bouncing between the too-big spaces in his multilevelled room. Notes slid between the books in his library, wept their way onto bed and sofa, murmured and fell flat on his games and electronics and distractions.

 

Adrien rubbed his face and his shoulders slumped.

 

_~If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?~_

 

He had so many _things_. Father didn't seem to understand that things weren't what Adrien was starving for. Father seemed to survive entirely on things, existing somehow outside of the need to connect to anyone.

 

His mind touched the hot-element subject of his mother and yanked back from the anticipation of pain before he could get close enough to burn himself again.

 

Slowly, the blonde boy dragged his feet back to his desk to where the video continued to play, closing on a distant image of the two heroes standing together on the Eiffel tower.

For the first time, he scrolled slightly to read Alya's author comment.

 

* * *

 

Do you wish they'd fall in love? I sure do, but I'm pretty sure they have already- just look at these guys! Shout to my man, DJN for help me put this together- we spent ages shouting at each other over the song, but I like this, and it's so pretty, just like our amazing heroes!

Long live the #GoodShipLadyNoir

* * *

 

 

A smile lifted the corners of his lips. He pressed a hand to his eyes and sighed a chuckle that turned into an actual laugh. “She's part right, at least.”

Shutting his computer and screens down, he crawled into bed, finding Plagg curled up asleep under one of the pillows. As he curled up under his blankets and tried to drift off, he found himself hum-singing under his breath.

“What will it take to make or break this hint of love?”

 

 ***

It had taken too long to sleep. Too long, and he'd had really strange dreams that slipped away from him every time he surfaced. His alarm going off was almost a relief, tired as he was, because drifting in and out of awareness _knowing_ he was dreaming something uncomfortable and strange that slid around the edges of his memory made him irritable and uneasy.

 

He cricked his neck yawning too widely in the car on the way to school and the quick pain added to his crankiness. Plagg grumbled something about Camembert from his bag and Adrien hissed a demand for quiet. There was cheese _in there_ , dammit. He couldn't have eaten it already.

Well.

He could, but that wasn't his problem right this minute. He was _tired_. Plagg could hold, _especially_ if he'd eaten his stash this early.

 

Thudding into his seat beside Nino, he mumbled a good morning and leaned back with his eyes closed. Slowly the tension in his body drained away, and he found himself breathing easier. His mind stopped churning and smoothed out into a familiar rhythm.

 

Someone was humming.

 

He realised this slowly, as the hum was nearby and he knew the song, so it almost seemed like it was coming from him. He relaxed into it, drifting along the melody. He heard Nino and Alya laughing quietly, and that was a good sound too.

 

Comfort washed over him.

 

The humming increased in volume, and then a soft voice breathed words into the hum.

 

Floating a little, Adrien thought he'd fallen asleep to dream of his lady singing to him, the voice was close and quiet, and so well known, he was the opposite in this duet, he had the words and he meant them so desperately, he'd _had_ to reply.

 

“So tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?”

“Yeah, all the time.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what happened After

 

Hum and song stopped abruptly with a choked intake of breath, and he jolted to full awareness with it. Turning his head, he found himself staring at Marinette, who was alarmingly red and seemed to be struggling to work her lungs or mouth.

 

Alya and Nino were staring in massive and obvious amusement. Neither he nor Marinette had been loud, so only they were privy to the impromptu duet but the building tea-kettle sound escaping Marinette's strangled lungs was starting to draw attention.

 

Alya leaned forward and thumped Marinette's back, cutting off the noise and restarting the girl's breathing. “I guess you guys liked my video huh?”

 

Adrien chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool.”

 

Marinette had gone, if possible, even redder. “Sure,” she squeaked, “but don't you think it's a little...presumptuous? It's not like Chat Noir and Ladybug are dating or anything!”

 

“Come on, Mari, those two are so made for each other.” Alya said, waving a hand.

 

Wide blue eyes sought Adrien's face, then flinched away, “I'm pretty sure they're just partners. I mean, they _have_ to work together really well, and I'm sure Ladybug cares about Chat Noir because he's really important to her but that doesn't mean they're _meant for each other_ , at least not like _that_ because that's not even fair, right? They should get to choose, and what if they want to be with someone else?”

 

She'd started off semi-coherent and ended in too-fast rambling, nerves and panic twisting messily to push more words out of her mouth, eyes darting from Alya's amused scepticism, to Nino's bemused concern, to Adrien's slow shut-down of emotion- oh no! What had she said to cause that blanching, the tightness around eyes and mouth, the blankness filtering over his expression?

 

“It's just that you should get to choose! And that's for Ladybug and Chat Noir too! Just because they're partners doesn't mean they have to be _partners_!-”

 

His green eyes were shuttered. He spoke in a carefully void tone, “Chat Noir seems to have chosen Ladybug. He's always telling her-”

 

“Oh, but-” Mari rushed over him, panicking at how pale and empty he looked, eyes going right through her to the wall behind, “-he's just joking, it's so obvious he doesn't mean anything by it, he's probably like that with every girl he's around!”

 

Silence.

 

A slight hiccough in breathing.

 

“I doubt it.”

 

Adrien turned away.

 

****

Chat Noir was late to patrol. When he did show up, it was sans smile and with a decidedly slumped cast to his shoulders. His general demeanour was that of someone who had recently been caught in a torrential downpour; in short, his mood was soggy.

 

Ladybug wasn't sure how to handle this, as her own feelings were rather raw, and attempted to patrol as usual. But between her own distraction and Chat's lethargy, she missed the chimney she was aiming for and fell for about a second before Chat's trajectory connected with hers and the two of them crashed onto a much lower rooftop with a sound like a bag of potting mix being whacked with a two-by-four by an enthusiastic child wearing pottery for shoes.

 

The two lay wheezing and tangled, covered in dust and dirt, and Chat had a streak of what might have been pigeon poop across one knee.

 

“What-” pant, pant, “-the fuck-” gasp, “-was that?”

 

“Sorry!” Ladybug hissed, “my fault, shit.”

 

Chat raised his head and stared at her. His expression was unusually flat, green eyes narrowed slightly. Ladybug stared back, then looked away with a sigh, “Something happened at school.”

 

“You too?”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh...just, I had kind of a weird day too.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Nothing important.”

 

“Really..?”

 

Chat squinted at the ground like it had just insulted his mother. “Do you think I'm insincere?”

 

There was a long, cold-wind silence.

 

“Insincere...how?”

 

“You _do!_ ” Chat scrambled backwards and stood up, staring at his lady still sprawling on the roof tiles. “What the hell have I done that you don't think I'm serious about you!?”

 

Ladybug's face was a study in bemusement. “Seemed like you were joking? I mean, I _know_ you flirt with other girls, so how serious can you _be_?”

 

“ _When have I flirted with anyone else!?_ ”

 

Her fingers twitched as she pulled herself into a cross-legged sit, smoothing drum beats over her knees. “Oh. Uhm, well, I know you flirted with that girl Marinette- she told me. Given that you were all flirty with her first time you met her, stands to reason that'd be your M.O., right?”

 

“I- I-” Chat saw red, and it wasn't his partner's costume, though it did come in spots that danced in front of his eyes.

 

Ladybug looked nervous, she was chewing her bottom lip. She wasn't wrong- Chat didn't know it was the same girl so if he'd been sincere, he wouldn't have done it-right? He must flirt with everyone, natural as breathing.

 

She eyed the cat-boy, who was dancing from foot to foot, seemingly fighting the urge to flee, or shout, or any number of adrenaline-hyped actions. Would she need to rush home so he could come yell at her as Marinette? Chat wouldn't do that... would he?

 

Was she to alienate both boys she cared deeply for today? Should she go see if Nino had any sore spots to prod to round out a nice trio? Maybe jab Alya to get a quartet of friends pissed off and hurt?

Might be hard to find them with these great clodhopping feet in her mouth though. Ungainly.

 

Chat, meanwhile, had worked himself with great logic and clarity, into something resembling sanity- top two emotions being insult and confused gladness. Marinette, he knew, did not tend to throw around wild accusations with the intention of causing pain. If she'd talked about him flirting with her as Chat with Ladybug, she'd either done it casually as something that happened and expected it not to be an issue- insincerity suspected all around on his part, but innocently enough- or she'd been looking out for her friend so that Ladybug wouldn't get hurt, and how could Chat argue with protecting Ladybug? Of course she was wrong, but if she was worried for Ladybug getting hurt, it explained an awful lot...

 

Ladybug was staring at him, standing now with shoulders hunched slightly as if Stoneheart's akuma had just started wreaking havoc because she'd forgotten to purify it all over again.

 

The sight made him go rigid with guilt with the sheer _wrongness_ of her in that posture- because of him.

 

Blue eyes met green, both wincing and shamefaced.

 

“Sorry.” two voices mumbled in unison.

 

“No-you didn't do anything-”

 

“Why are you apolo-”

 

They broke off, Ladybug waving her hands to ward off his apologies while trying to say hers over again. Chat grinned, then shook his head and stepped closer and grabbed her hands. Ladybug's mouth dropped open, then snapped closed with a tiny 'click' and the skin below her mask went slightly pink.

 

“I admit I might've showed off a little for Marinette when she helped with Evillustrator, but that' was just because I know her and I went a little overboard since she's so ...y'know, popular and I wanted her to think I was cool...” he frowned a little, trying to analyse his own past actions, “I think I was just overexcited about interacting with a friend as a hero, y'know? Well sort of a friend... And she seemed meow-vellously impressed and I just hammed it up...catted it up? No I'll have to work on that one. Anyway, Ladybug, you're the only one for me, you're the only one I seriously flirt with! And Mari was that one time, otherwise I've never flirted with anyone else at all! Cat's honour!”

 

Chat tapped his index and middle fingers to his heart and grinned impishly, waggling his eyebrows because he was vibrating with nerves on the inside of the catsuit.

 

Ladybug's mouth had opened during the latter half of his first sentence and stayed open, and her face now blended admirably with the rest of her suit.

 

“You _know m-me-maaaariineeettte!?”_

 

She grabbed at her throat to stop the boiling-kettle noise she'd accidentally lapsed into, then tucked her face into her hands. His little speech contained too much information to process. She was popular? Chat _knew_ her? He was friends with her? _Chat Noir was her sort of friend? Who was she even 'sort-of' friends with???_

 

A very cold finger ran down her spine, so she trembled anew on every vertebrae. She was on good terms with everyone in her class bar Chloe and Sabrina, would certainly term herself a friend to them, could comfortably talk with them all...except one person. One person who, she realised five vertebrae down, could well consider them sort-of friends when she barely spoke to him. A blonde, green-eyed person. A person known to have a thing about Ladybug.

 

She peeked through her fingers at a very concerned Chat who was leaning towards her, one hand outstretched but hovering, uncertain.

 

Her mouth made the shape of an “A” behind her palm but her voice, snubbed during its tea-kettle performance, had up and left in a huff.

 

The concern on his face, the way his brow furrowed and eyebrows lifted slightly at the inside edge, and look in those green, green eyes...

 

This did explain Chat's natural ability to be constantly posing somehow.

 

And the way Adrien had never been Akumatised...or around during an attack...and _this explained so much, holy shit Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste. Adrien Agreste is in a catsuit doing gymnastics on a regular basis. Adrien Agreste has a thing for...for Ladybug..._

_...for me._

 

She grabbed his hand like it was last Toffee Pop on a plate full of rice crackers. She grabbed hard and fast enough that she immediately reaction-cringed backwards, which yanked the poor off-balance cat-boy smack into her, and sent both of them sprawling on the roof again.

 

Two groans limped into the air, followed by a loud rapping beneath them as the inhabitants of their perch protested the banging and thumping of the last few minutes, presumably via application of broom handle to ceiling from the rap-tap-tap of it.

 

They scrambled up and leaped in unison to the next room, fleeing hand in hand without realising it until Chat extended his baton and hauled Ladybug up with him. She yelped, but was already adjusting her hold so he could lift them both easily, until they were perched above Paris, giggling and out of breath. Their hands were linked, Ladybug comfortable on Chat's knee, free arm around his shoulders and his around her waist.

 

_Chat is Adrien._

 

“Hey... Chat? I feel warm with your hand in mine.”

 

Thump. Thump, thump. His chest tightened. Light, nimbly plucked notes seemed to swell inside his chest, winding up through his throat, suffocating on the back of his tongue. He missed the next line, choking on shock and guitar strings too dwelt on to be real.

 

“W-we'll turn out all of the lights and set this ballroom aglow.”

 

Ladybug snorted and smacked his shoulder. “Way to skip ahead.”

 

“Just getting to the good bit.” he managed.

 

“The good bit? Oh yeah...Tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?”

 

He trembled. The voice. She was smoky and soft as she crooned, turning her head to look him dead in the eye, possibly to finish off the definite murder by heart attack.

 

He knew that voice, saying those words.

“Marinette?”

 

Those eyes were as deep and dark as the night sky in the country, all the stars that ever were glimmering in and out of view. She winked. His heart stopped.

 

She sang again, whisper rough. Cat's tongue rough.

 

“Oh, all the time. Tell me, Adri, do you wish we'd fall in love?”

 

“Yeah, all the time.” he croaked the line out. “But seriously, I might need a defibrillator in a sec.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tchyeah this half is a ton more choppy but well I tried and it was fun and I hope you like it!


End file.
